


Missed a spot

by PoisonJack



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Flirting leads to making out leads to dates awwww, Jack is such a nerd, M/M, Modern AU, SO MUCH FLUFF, all the hot making out and silly love notes, and all the flirting, are you guys like twelve or something?, just make out already, vice janitor Rhys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 20:05:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5511320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoisonJack/pseuds/PoisonJack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhys gets cheated out of his promotion by Vasquez, but uses his new position as assistant vice janitor to get close to Handsome Jack. Lucky for him Jack thinks the new janitor is cute as hell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Missed a spot

**Author's Note:**

> Fic request for iglooicetakashi :) I took a little artistic license to make this work, and it ended up being a lot of fun xD hope you guys enjoy!!
> 
>  
> 
> _Rhys is a janitor in the big company Hyperion and one day is called up to clean up Jack's office 'Jack being in the office at the time, Rhys has had a major crush on the man for ages, so he quickly makes a small asking Jack out on a date note and when he goes and sweeps near Jack's desk he puts the note in the broom and 'accidentally' hits Jack's feet with it and the note falls out, Jack ends up reading the note and yea the rest idk xD_

It was all a part of his master plan, really.

Vice janitor Rhys. _Assistant_ vice janitor Rhys.

Initially, he'd been indignant; furious. But not at all long after he was actually accepting of the "promotion". Vaughn thought he was nuts to accept without a proper fight, let alone more fuss. He was _supposed_ to get Henderson's job since the man was retiring. Practically promised it-- and the big office that came with it.

That office- that _job_ \- was _his_. He'd definitely earned it, he was properly qualified for it. But Vasquez, the snake, was sitting in that big office right now. He had definitely bent over for someone to have stolen Rhys' promotion right out from under him. He _must_ have. His skills weren't nearly on par with Rhys' own. Vasquez' job should belong to _him._

He wanted to prove he was as smart as he thought- make some waves with his new designs, maybe some day work high enough to the top of Hyperion to finally gain some of Handsome Jack's personal attention. 

Vaughn might have joked, called him obsessed (and okay he definitely had some promotional materials featuring the CEO that wasn't entirely company-related) but Handsome Jack was his hero, his idol. He admired the hell out of the man, and yeah okay he had a _little_ crush as well. Not only was he attractive and brilliant, but he was head of one of the biggest technology and weapons firms in the world, and he'd built it all himself. Even Rhys' right arm was built by Hyperion, and he'd had it upgraded with the company colors in deference to the man behind the technology. He wanted to someday shake hand with mechanical hand with the CEO.

Handsome Jack was a man of passion and action. He made Hyperion what it was, kept it at the top of the game for international tech and military weapons. He was practically a rockstar. He was smart, extremely good looking, always on the cover of the latest tech or gossip magazines, and basically everything Rhys wanted or wanted to be. 

Janitor put Rhys even further from those ambitions. From Henderson's position he'd planned to keep working his way up the corporate ladder and change the company with some new ideas; forward thinking and all that. That wasn't going to happen now.

However.... _this_ promotion, actually, had come with some rather unforeseen benefits. 

Joke was on everyone else. Very few people actually got close to Handsome Jack without an actual appointment. He was a very important, busy man, and his time was precious. All day long important people were coming in and out of his office- dignitaries, company heads, models, scientists- and while Rhys might fiddle with designs and stuff on his free time now, programming the toaster to scare Vaughn in the morning or reconfiguring his cybernetic arm- he was hardly in the same league as _those_ people. He realized it would take him a year or two (he humbly estimated) before he'd be able to meet with Handsome Jack personally; before he was important enough to warrant it.

There was, however, one person who regularly _did_ gain passage into Handsome Jack's office who had none of those enviable skills or qualities- and _that_ was the head of janitorial.

So when his meetings didn't always go according to plan, things tended to get broken. A _lot._ Which meant that the janitors were actually up in the CEO's office far more than anyone else in the company. It was the perfect way for him to get an in with the CEO. He could get the chance to share some of his designs or ideas with the man, surely. This position actually put him two years _ahead_ of his humble projections.

Mr. Rawlings, the head of janitorial with an impressive gray mustache, was going up to Handsome Jack's office an awful lot to personally deal with the fallout of bad business meetings. He practically had it down to a science with the CEO in terms of efficiency and timeliness.

Rhys had offered to go up there in his stead more than a few times, but Mr. Rawlings just shook his head with a bewildered smile.

"Never had someone as eager as you to want to clean up this shit hole. But trust me, you do not want to be around Handsome Jack when he's in a rage. I've been doing this for over fifteen years, kid. I'd be worried to leave a greenhorn like you to the CEO. He'd eat a thing like you alive."

And that had been that. But Rhys bided his time, not discouraged by the words or the CEO's reputation. He'd get his chance. He wouldn't allow himself to be screwed over twice out of an opportunity. If the head janitor wouldn't let him go because he was still new to it all, then he'd just have to hound the man with determined youthful persistence. There would be some time Mr. Rawlings wasn't available. There had to be. 

And that time happened to be Mr. Rawlings getting food poisoning from the greasy spoon he preferred on floor sixteen.

"Rhys....don't order the pork chops," the man had rasped as he was taken out on a stretcher, pale. "Hold down the fort for me, kid."

And so Rhys was the head janitor for the day. And he was hoping for something-- some sort of meeting or broken whatever, _anything_ \- from the CEO. 

Nothing too exceptional happened during the rest of the day except for a massive copier explosion in advertising. That took him the better part of the day to take care of. It took him a long time to get himself cleaned up after that mess, covered in rainbows of ink, when the head janitor was paged to Handsome Jack's office.

Rhys almost ignored the page as per usual, putting away his cleanup report for the incident. Then his gut dropped as he realized Mr. Rawlings was out for the rest of the day.

This was it. This was his chance.

He grabbed the gear Mr. Rawlings usually took with him to the CEO's floor, prepared for anything, and made his way up in the executive elevator to Handsome Jack's office.

The top floor wasn't numbered, but instead had a golden H emblazoned for his stop. The melodic ding was deceivingly normal for the exclusive floor as he was got off the elevator. 

He'd never been on this floor before, but he'd heard rumors. And it was every bit as grand as he'd expected. Gold-veined marbled floors clicked beneath the boots he wore, and various plants and even a small waterfall caught his eye. The air he breathed seemed expensive itself. 

He was so caught up in his wide-eyed observations that he almost missed the secretary- a blue-haired woman who gave him an unimpressed raise of her brow. He jumped when she addressed him.

"Go on in then. He's in a mood today."

Rhys stuttered a thank you and made his way through the tall wooden doors. 

The grandeur of the office threw him through a loop. Floor to ceiling windows leading to a wide outdoor balcony, extremely high ceilings, polished chrome and leather furniture. The voice of the CEO completely startled Rhys from his thoughts.

"You're not Mr. Rawlings."

Handsome Jack himself, shoes on his enormous desk as he reclined in his big yellow office chair, looking the younger man over. Rhys was pretty shocked the CEO knew the name of his boss, given his impressive reputation. And he was a little proud of himself that he found his voice to reply.

"Oh, uh, he's out sick." The older man was looking him over head to foot with speculation. Rhys nervously chuckled, overexcited and a little scared to finally be in the presence of Handsome Jack himself. "Don't order the pork chops from The Hungry Bear."

The older man actually snorted, sitting upright at his desk, a charming smile gracing his face as he folded his fingers beneath his chin. It was the most glorious thing Rhys had ever seen, and he only wanted more. 

"I've been telling that old man not to eat there.....What's _your_ name, pumpkin?"

"Rhys, sir."

"Rhys huh? And don't call me 'sir'. Jack is just fine."

"Uh yes s- uuuuh yeah. Jack. Okay."

He knew he must sound like a bumbling idiot, had a stupid look on his hot face he was sure. The CEO looked utterly amused, the grin on his lips only growing wider as Rhys stood there dumbfounded.

"So, come here often, cupcake?"

Rhys was flustered by that, still standing where he'd entered, giving the older man a confused look. "I....I uh...I'm here to...."

Shit. Shit what was it he was doing? What was he here for? It was Handsome Jack, right in front of him, grinning at _him_ , blue and green gaze focused on _him_. He knew the man was brilliant, glorious, but in person he was just stunned by that attractive face.

Jack laughed, his braying voice echoing off the high walls. "I'm just messing with you kiddo." Rhys felt his cheeks grow even hotter as Jack just grinned and motioned to the mess on the floor. "Sorry. Things got a bit heated earlier today and I accidentally knocked a plant over." He motioned to a pile of dirt and terra cotta shards, the "plant" in question being a ficus at least as tall as Rhys.

"Ah! Of course yes sorry yes I'll get that cleaned right up for you!" The younger man bit his lip as he stuttered and quickly got to the job he was summoned for, gathering the shards and inwardly wishing a hole would open up beneath him he could hide his dumb face in.

The CEO kept shooting amused glances at him while he cleaned up the shattered pot and dirt. And all the while Rhys could feel his face burning, feeling stupid and thrilled and shell shocked. When Jack waved him off with a grin and he got back to the janitorial offices in a daze at having just met his hero, he discovered he even had a smudge of ink on his face. Oh god.

He'd made himself out to be an idiot. Or the CEO had to at least think he was a dumbass. He also realized he'd completely wasted his chance. His chance for what exactly, he wasn't sure. His courage would've dictated that. But he figured at least he hadn't screwed anything up or made anything worse. He could back up his next request to Mr. Rawlings to deal with the CEO with this experience. And maybe if he wasn't so shell shocked by meeting Handsome Jack himself, he could talk himself up a little even next time.

\--

Mr. Rawlings was out for an entire week. And Rhys had to admit that as much as he liked the old man, it was the best week of his life.

Handsome Jack seemed to be in an awful mood lately, breaking all kinds of shit. But Rhys couldn't be happier about it as it meant he was called up to the top floor rather often. And the CEO always seemed to be in good spirits so at least his foul mood over whatever had caused the breaking didn't carry over into the interactions with Rhys.

He was picking up what was left of a tea service when he turned and Handsome Jack was right behind him. He just about jumped out of his skin, though the older man just laughed at him and then held out his open palm.

"Lemme see that hand, pumpkin."

Rhys did as he was told, extended the cybernetic appendage to the CEO. His palm was warm and Rhys was warning himself not to get overly excited by this contact, and not to let his thoughts get carried away with _Handsome Jack is touching your hand Handsome Jack is touching your hand_. Jack's attention was on it, turning it this way and that, slightly rolling up his sleeve.

"Just the forearm?"

Rhys shook his head, hoping the heat in his cheeks wasn't as noticeable as he felt it was. "No, it goes all the way up."

"Just like those legs huh?" Jack's attention was on the metal in his palm again as Rhys felt his whole face heat at those words. He was working the sleeve up Rhys' arm and the younger man suppressed a very pleased shudder at the familiarity of the motion. "This is one of our earlier models....I don't recognize these upgrades though."

"Oh....yeah I kind of did that myself....There were some things even the newer models were lacking that I thought I could-- I-I mean, not that there's anything wrong with the newer tech! It's just that I-"

"Calm down kiddo calm down. You're telling me you tricked this out yourself?"

"Yeah," he said a bit proudly.

Jack gave him a bewildered look, single brow raised. "Kid, what the hell are you doing in janitorial? Why aren't you in cybernetics or some shit?"

"Well I _was_ in programming," he informed the other man.

"Was?"

"Until I was promoted," Rhys informed a bit sourly, though he didn't complain to the CEO. It seemed in extremely poor taste. Regardless of anything else, he was still better than Vasquez on that account.

"Wait, you were promoted _to_ janitorial? I mean don't get me wrong cupcake, you're doing a bang-up job. But I feel your talents could be better put to use elsewhere."

Rhys was silent on that; didn't know exactly what to say. _You're damn right_ or _tell me something I don't know_ seemed about right.

"You got any other interesting talents kiddo?" Jack asked as he looked up and down the arm to settle on Rhys' face with a smirk. "Put your legs behind your head or whatever, for example?"

He was beet red, he knew it, and he had to have a stupid expression on his face as well. At least he blamed that on the words that came out of his mouth next. "Well you should see me do yoga..."

Jack was laughing, and he felt himself smirk. He'd caused that laughter. Made the older man smile. He felt his stomach flip flop.

The CEO gave him a pat on the shoulder, a huge grin on his face, and sent him on his way.

\--

The days spent as Head Janitor while Mr. Rawlings was out, Jack would tease him while he cleaned up whatever had been "accidentally" knocked over.

"Missed a spot."

Rhys would turn around, and the CEO either had pointed out something he'd genuinely missed, made a small mess that wasn't there before, or there was truly nothing to be seen.

After about the tenth time this had happened, finding Jack had torn up little scraps of paper by his desk, Rhys felt a bit cocky; decided to tease back.

"Let me get that for you, sir." He picked up the torn little pile and set it neatly before Jack on his desk. The CEO had fully whooped at that, thought it was hilarious, leaving the pile where it was placed to watch Rhys a bit more with chuckles before turning back to work at his computer.

It also ended up happening more and more often.

This was flirting, _clearly_ flirting. Maybe in his wildest dreams he'd liked to _hope_ he'd have a chance with the man. But it seemed to be actually happening. Vaughn thought so, Yvette thought so, and Rhys was inclined to believe it himself. So he hatched a plan. The next time Jack pulled this nonsense, he was going to up the stakes.

He composed a little note, asking the CEO out to dinner. Or more specifically, _If you're bored enough to make messes, maybe wanna get out and have a bite some time?_ He thought it wasn't too forward, definitely clear, and innocent enough that he felt brave enough to slip it to Hyperion's CEO.

He was going to slip it into the next little tear up pile Jack made. Because if there was anything he could come to count on lately, it was the man's tendency to make a huge mess, and his love for making Rhys' job a little more interesting.

His plan was all for naught though. Mr. Rawlings was back. Had the week passed so quickly?

The overhead page for the head janitor to report to Handsome Jack's office had Rhys standing in his chair, and Mr. Rawlings gave him a smile and a pat. "Thanks for holding down the fort, but I've got it kid."

Rhys felt his heart sink. Shit. Shit there went his chance. Why didn't he do something before? Why didn't he just ask the man out proper? Yeah he was just a janitor but he was damn good at that and Jack had praised his tweaks to his arm and they had so very _obviously_ been flirting.

The next day Rhys was in a visible funk. Mr. Rawlings gave him an encouraging pat as they were headed to lunch; lunch at The Hungry Bear. "Just don't order the pork chops, you'll be fine. We'll get you some cherry cobbler."

An overhead page was heard for janitorial. Rhys tuned it out huffily, and Mr. Rawlings had stopped, giving him a weird look. 

"What?"

The page repeated as it was wont to do: "Assistant vice janitor Rhys to Handsome Jack's office."

Mr. Rawlings gave him a look. Rhys returned it.

"Well? Get a move on, kid. I'll order that cherry cobbler for you."

Rhys quickly turned on his heel to jog back to their department to gather his things and made his way up to Jack's office. His heart was beating quickly in his chest and he thought it had little to do with the fact that he'd been running, and a lot more to do with the fact that he'd been personally asked for. He was bouncing on his heels the entire elevator ride up, and if there was a little spring to his step when he entered the office, he wasn't one to deny the reason.

Jack was sitting as usual, looking like he did every time Rhys had been called up before. This time a chair was in pieces, wooden bits everywhere. Jack's face lit up from the scowl it was in as he saw Rhys.

"Soooo you _do_ still work for me."

"Mr. Rawlings is over his food poisoning."

"Yeah...that's great that's great." Jack was silent, observing the younger man before him. Rhys' eyes were on the broken chair.

"Rough meeting?"

"Oh you know. The usual."

The _usual_ seemed to be a lot more frequent than normal. Rhys wondered not for the first time if Jack wasn't breaking things on purpose just for his own amusement. Though Rhys was hardly one to complain if it got him into the older man's office. He was more than grateful he'd been personally asked for. It boosted his courage more than a little bit.

Rhys snorted to himself as he went to see to the mess, contemplating in his head if this was his last chance or not to make a move. He tried not to get himself too excited that Jack had personally paged him when Mr. Rawlings was back. But it had to mean something, didn't it?

"Missed a spot."

Rhys turned to see the pile of scrap yet again by the man's desk, A smile tugged at his lips. "That's a damn stubborn spot there, sir."

"Jack," the CEO corrected with a smirk. "Nothing the vice janitor can't handle, I'm sure."

Jack ignored him as Rhys picked up the bits of white paper, and seeing his chance, Rhys stuck his little scribbled message into the pile. He deposited it on Jack's desk with the usual fanfare and a smirk, then went back to what he was doing. 

It could've been his imagination, but he felt like Jack was eyeing him a lot harder than normal. He could feel the frown at his back; wondered if his little note had been seen and Jack was now thinking of how to deal with him. He heard Jack huff with annoyance and swivel in his chair. Damn. Had Rhys fully misread the situation? Had he read the message and now he was mad? Shit.

He tried to block that from his mind with dread as he stacked larger pieces of the chair out of the way to then sweep things up. He let loose a completely undignified shriek as arms wrapped around his middle, and warm breath was on his ear as Jack had his chin in his neck. He hadn't even heard him approach.

"U-uh-"

"Real cute there, Rhysie. _Real_ cute." Jack was pressing a kiss to his neck as another undignified noise of surprise left him, and the older man bit him lightly. 

"W-what the--"

"You offered me a bite, princess," Jack laughed against his neck. "You're real cute, cupcake, real cute. Great minds and all." Jack laughed again.

Rhys was frowning, his heart threatening to escape his chest and run around Hyperion all on its own. 

"You didn't even see my note, you little deviant."

Rhys was genuinely confused. "What note?"

"In the scrap."

Rhys tried to look at him over his shoulder, disbelief all over his features. "You left me a note?"

"You're gorgeous, in case you didn't know, kiddo," Jack whispered into his ear. "And cute as hell. Yes, I left you a little note....Yours was far more tame, I'll admit, but I don't mind starting off slow."

Rhys was dreaming. That had to be it. No way was this happening. 

"Pinch me."

"What?"

"Pinch me," Rhys repeated. Without second warning Jack gave his ass a pinch and Rhys jumped from his arms as the CEO cackled. 

"You're not dreaming, sugar." 

Rhys' face was totally red. Damn he was cute. 

"So when do you get off?"

This was happening. This was actually happening. "S-Six."

"Every day?" Jack was raising a teasing brow and Rhys felt color come to his cheeks. Alright. He could be cheeky too.

"Sometimes earlier....if it's been a slow day," he replied, playing back into the innuendo Jack was feeding him.

Jack approached him again, walked him back against the nearest wall. His grin was predatory, his gaze intense, and it was _really_ doing it for Rhys. Maybe a little too much. Jack raised a brow and drew his attention in the direction of their groins, though his body was flush against the younger man. "Has today been a slow day, kitten?" Jack asked him huskily. He pressed a kiss below Rhys' jaw, and the younger man was just muttering.

"I-I....I uh....well it's....that's.... _oh goodness_ ," he said as Jack pulled his earlobe between his teeth, sucked it between his lips. 

"You are a peach, aren't you?" Jack was grinning, slightly chuckling. He was also hard against Rhys, pleased. "If I didn't have a meeting in about fifteen minutes then this would go a _lot_ differently."

He pulled Rhys into a full-mouthed kiss, encouraged his hands to touch. Rhys wrapped them up under the older man's arms to grasp his shoulders, pull him harder against him. He could feel Jack's smile against his lips and the CEO trailed hands up his face to bury them in his hair. Jack broke the kiss as the younger man made increasingly needier noises, and he grimaced at his own need as he ground his hips into Rhys' own.

"So tonight...You're free tonight yeah?" Jack asked him gruffly, and Rhys was floored knowing it was _he_ who'd put that deep tone of need into the CEO's voice.

"Yeah," Rhys mimicked, slightly dazed. This was not happening to him. This was just...Oh wow. Handsome Jack. Vaughn would never believe him.

"Alright, tonight. Dinner. I'm taking you out. Somewhere fancy, you pretty thing." Rhys was nodding in a happy daze. "I'd like to discuss that arm of yours a bit more. Maybe get a closer look over _dessert._ "

Rhys was nodding enthusiastically. Jack kind of laughed. He gave Rhys' cheek an affectionate stroke of his thumb. "And I don't mean creme brûlée, sweetheart." He waggled his eyebrows and Rhys' own shot into his hair as his face got ridiculously hot. "God you are way too cute." Jack stepped back from him, laughed at the whine that escaped Rhys' throat, as he eyed the younger man. "Okay, get a move on, kiddo. Might wanna hide that though," he said with an amused grin to Rhys' tented pants. 

The younger man didn't even care. Jack was sporting a similar problem. God, he'd done that to one of the most powerful men in the world. This was just too much.

Rhys was leaving when he thought he might be bold. He had a date with Handsome Jack. Why not? "What did your note say?"

Jack turned around with a raised brow.

"The note you wrote me."

A sly smile smoothed across Jack's face as the CEO gave him a wink. "Maybe I'll whisper it to you over dinner. It's definitely not polite enough for me to shout across the office...." He was looking Rhys up and down hungrily. Rhys gulped. "Let's just say it involved dinner of another kind."

Rhys was red when he left, but confident as hell. His little love note had paid off. And if he was a little smug as he imagined what kind of things the CEO of Hyperion might whisper to him over dinner, well, he thought he well earned it.

That and the hickey on his neck. 

**Author's Note:**

> I had so many issues with flow for this but WELP okay it's done now haha. I'm back in California for Christmas, jet-lagged, and trying to relax :3 I'm working on updates for the purge series as well as 'I never agreed to this' so yeah :) merry Christmas haha come say hi and shit folks
> 
> http://purge-that-urge-rhackathon.tumblr.com


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